The Gap Between Today and The Next
by Haike
Summary: Minato Arisato was only a normal student when he decided to go back to his former hometown after ten years of absence. Upon setting his foot there,the last thing he could imagine was to be surrounded by mysteries: Dark Hour, Shadows, Tatarus, Personas, and a red-eyed girl who seemed to know more than just enough...
1. Chapter 1: Minato Arisato

Little did Minato Arisato know how his life was going to flip when he heard about the news of his transferring; of how it would turn him, an unknown high-schooler, into someone significant.

As summer began to drift away, his uncle reported to Minato that he was about to be moved to another high school, due to a failure in rearranging new students' information for the new school year. Minato was kind of annoyed when he learned this (he had things to get packed up!), but he was also somewhat delighted to know that he was able to live in a dorm (The school was far from his uncle's house so in order for him to enroll into the school, he had to move). Still, the place which he would be living in was nowhere else but his former hometown – Iwatodai.

It was ten years ago when Minato's uncle decided to bring him back to Tokyo with him, because of the death of his parents.

For several times, Minato's uncle would reconsider with him about moving back to Iwatodai, since he feared that Minato wouldn't be able to withstand unfortunate past. But in the end, he had to surrender to his nephew's determination, though there was his aunt, who had always been the person cared for Minato the most, she also could not prevent him from doing this. They would move together with him if they could, but due to their job, they could not.

* * *

><p>On the day of departure they took a day off from their work and escorted Minato straight to the station themselves. They told him many things; most of them were about what he should do to live independently; getting a part-time job was one. Well, working for money wasn't that unfamiliar to Minato anymore, since he had been through several before. It was just because his aunt and uncle were too busy with their jobs to actually check on their nephew, though they'd constantly ask if he needed anything in particular.<p>

After a few quick words and goodbye kisses from his aunt, Minato entered the train, waving his hand at them before finding an empty seat.

"It's going to be a long ride." Minato said to himself, glanced around the car filled with passengers, he slid his bag under his seat and put on his headphones, drowning into the upbeat music that would soon deliver him to the land of dreams.

* * *

><p>Subconscious could create many phenomenons that none could provide the exact answers for them. In his last train that would eventually lead him to Iwatodai, Minato awoke with a start, jumped at the sight of a luminescent butterfly in his head - a small, fragile insect in the color of blue. With a sigh of relief for no special reason, he shifted in the seat and fixed his eyes on the window. Lights of the tunnel rushed past like fireballs flying at an amazing speed, but only they all went in the same track.<p>

Unfolding the handout he received a few days back, Minato once again ran his eyes down the neatly written information on the building he would be living in. It was a dorm-a _private_ dorm-which somehow intrigued him. Iwatodai dorm. Named after the city's itself, it was founded and sponsored by the Kirijo Group – the same organization that had funded the city and the high school that Minato was about to attend in. It seemed like this Kirijo Group had way too much authority, though they meant no harm.

Forcing the paper sheet to his pocket, Minato lifted his bag and exited the train when it came to a stop at a station.

The night was dark and windy, which made him thought a bit about how long had he been sleeping. Minato wandered around the station and found himself a soda can. The unusual taste of its made him discarded the can after just one gulp.

_Maybe I shouldn't have tried that colorful drink._

After a few polite responses to passersby, he was now outside of the station. The city was quite modernized, maybe not as Tokyo but it was fairly decent. Tall buildings, urban houses… all could be expected for a normal city. Despite it was the middle of the night, the city was still buzzing with noises. People talking, car honking, neon lights from some nearby stores… they were all clear.

Few steps forward and Minato noticed his shoes. The shoelaces were untied. So he bent over and fixed them. But just about he was finishing up, an odd thing occurred.

The music in his headphones cut off, as if the batteries had died. The yellowish light from the streetlights disappeared, replaced by an eerie green one. Surprised by the changes, Minato promptly got up to his feet and his eyes widened, shocking before this new world he had set foot in. It was nothing like what he had just seen, nothing like the regular night life of a normal city that he had just looked at a second ago. It was… like it was shifted into another dimension.

The sky had turned green and blood poured on the street, creating a frightening scene, as if a massacre just took place. Scattering on the road were some coffins, standing with their iron-cold stillness in every direction. Still having no idea what was going on, he decided to rush as fast as he could to the dormitory, ignoring his surroundings. Calling out for anyone by now would be futile; no one would be able to hear him anyway, because all the citizens had somehow… disappeared.

The stinky odor delivered by the blood on the street sickened him, it splashed under his feet when he tried to run faster and faster to his destination, and shortly, he was wet up to the knees. Winding through the coffins that he did not want to stick around and investigate, Iwatodai dorm had finally in front of him. And taking no time to think, he opened the door, quickly crept inside, and shut the door.

Gasping for air, Minato exhaustedly slid down to the floor and rest his forehead on his arm. Didn't know why he runs so fast, he let a bitter chuckle slip out. But if he didn't run, who knew what could have happened to him? Arriving late and suddenly the world turned upside down, crazy stuff appeared… Well, he thought he did the reasonable thing.

"You are late… I've been waiting for a while…"

A voice reached down to him. As Minato lifted his face up, he could see a small boy was staring back at him with a small smile on his lips. The boy was wearing black-and-white horizontal stripe pajamas, which almost looked like a prisoner. He was very young; maybe five years younger than Minato, perhaps he was ten. "Now if you want to proceed, please give your signature to this contract," he handed Minato a thin, red folder with a sheet a paper tucked in by his left hand while the other was holding a pen.

"My name is Arisato. Minato Arisato," Minato spoke to the young boy while writing down his name on the contract, assuming that it was some kind of agreement that he should make before settling down in the dorm. "Nice to meet you." And he gave him back the folder, getting up back to his feet as he did so. "What's your name?"

The young guy received the folder back with politeness, casting a mysterious smile across his face, and it seemed like he didn't concern about Minato's greeting. "Time is something that you cannot escape from. It delivers us to the same end. You can't run from it even if you plug your ears and close your eyes…" Along with his odd speech, the boy closed his eyes and held the contract tightly to his chest, slowly stepping back to the dark side of the room. When the darkness slowly engulfed him, his eyes abruptly went opened and looked straight at Minato. "And it begins…"

"Wait!" Minato took a few steps to reach for the boy, but he wasn't there anymore. "Dammit, am I seeing more things?" He pressed his thumb and index finger against his eyes, slightly cursing the doziness he'd got from riding nine-hour train to get here.

Glancing to his right, a small sofa appeared. Happy to see the comfortable furniture, he made his way towards it and sank deep into the sofa, hoping that would help settle his mind down.

But it did not. Instead, the moment his back leaned against the soft surface, his eyelids also began to close, as if they were dragged down by a heavy anvil. He tried to rub his eyes, but it didn't seem to change the fact that his body required sleep.

_There's no one here... I want to get to my room..._

He suddenly remembered that his first day at school started tomorrow.

_Agh, screw it. I'm sleeping here._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 1- End.<strong>_

* * *

><p>And that is the first chapter! Yeah, it's kinda "off" compared to the game, right? Well, that's just how I want it to be!<p>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Persona series.<em>


	2. Chapter 2: Day at School

It was roughly around in the afternoon; a few seconds after the final bell had rung. The classroom was bursting with chatters. Students grouped up together and started gossiping about the teachers, while some just asked for each other's notes. Minato laid face first on the desk, having zero intention of lifting himself up. He was still drained from the previous night.

"Hey, wake up! Don't sleep here!" a voice of a girl told Minato with her hand tapping on his shoulder lightly. "If you want to sleep that much, go back to the dorm."

"Mmh..." Minato Arisato reluctantly growled in displeasure. Though the classroom was quite noisy, just resting his head on his arms against the desk cured the problem, at least until she spoiled it... "Come on! Wake up!" The girl now sounded annoyed. The tapping on his shoulder was no longer. Instead, he felt his body was rocked back and forth.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he replied her while still hiding his face under his arms. Then, he lifted himself upward just to see a girl was wincing back at him. "If I had known where my room was last night, I wouldn't have dozed off in class you know," he said with a sigh.

"I know, geez..." the girl rolled her eyes to the ceiling and also let out a sigh. "But it was partially your fault. You room number was written on the key that _you_ lost," she reminded him. It was true that the key was sent to him days before the departure, and Minato somehow managed to lose it. But still, he blamed the dorm's manager for sending him the key too early.

"You guys shouldn't have given me the key that early," he said this before a long yawn. The girl standing next to his seat just shook the argument off. Her name was Yukari Takeba, also a junior like Minato. She was wearing a pink cardigan with a neatly-done tie around her collar. Her slender, smooth legs were revealed by the little-too-short skirt (about 15 centimeter above her knees), while her shins were covered by stocking. He could not help but admire Yukari her loveliness. Any guy in the school would fall head over heel for her just from looking at her.

She _was_ popular, but then again, there was hardly any guy that she actually hung out with. Minato learned this through a gossiping of some boys he overheard during the Opening Ceremony (some of them were talking about how he got to walk to school with one of the most popular girls at school, despite being a transferred student). Guess the guysl had eyes on him now.

It was not until this morning that Yukari first greeted him in the lounge. She found him lay motionlessly on the sofa when she came downstairs to make some coffee. Her heart almost skipped a beat upon seeing him, since her first thought was that Minato was a thief. Considering the situation, anyone would have thought the same.

"Anyway, you can't sleep here; school's done a moment ago," Yukari spoke. "You should start packing up."

"Ooooh. And just as I thought something smelled fishy." Right before the blue-haired teen could react to the girl, a voice shot from behind them along with an approaching figure of a boy. "Damn, didn't know you were that fast at fishing boys, Yuka-tan!"

"Again, Junpei?" Yukari was annoyed but otherwise used to the situation,as if this had happened many times before. "Seriously, are you gonna say that to every guy I talk to?"

As Yukari had introduced, the guy's name was Junpei. Judging through his voice, this Junpei guy was the energetic type. He dressed in the school uniform with a baseball cap on his head. "Aw, I just wanted to say 'hi' to the transferred guy," then he turned to Minato. "Hey man, the name's Junpei. Junpei Iori." A grin spread across his lip as he fixed the cap on his head.

"My name's Minato Arisato."

"So, how's it going?" Junpei leaned down, placing his elbow on Minato's desk. "Word on the street says that you two walked together, hand in hand to school this morning, what's up with that?"

"Whoa there!' Yukari interrupted him. "Together. Yes, we did. But hand in hand? That's just something you made up."

"Still, walking together with the new kid to school on the first day seems too good to be just a coincidence to me," Junpei tilted his head and stared at the ceiling, putting his two fingers on his chin.

"She and I just live in the same dorm," said Minato. "She asked to assist me to school, that's it."

"That's right," Yukari relieved when she heard him say that. "He just moved here, and I didn't want him to get lost so I just showed him the way to school." As if reminded of something important, she glanced fast to the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh, I've got something to take care of, so I can't escort you back to the dorm today," she said apologetically. "Um, do you remember the way back?"

"Yeah, I think I've had it covered. You can go," Minato replied.

Having said that the girl in pink quickly escaped the classroom, not forgetting to say sorry one more time, "So, it looks like it's just you and me then." The boy in cap was first to speak after Yukari left. "You're new around here, right? No worry, I'll be your guidance for the day," he said, with a sense of pride in his voice.

"Okay then."

And the they exited the classroom. Minato thought that he was going to be back late, since he knew that he will be taken to some place with this new companion of his. The guy sounded exciting when he took the honor of showing the new kid around. Well, that was Minato's thought until they reached down to the first floor...

"Iori!" a deep, loud voice emitted from down the hallway behind them. "I've found you…"

"Shit!" Junpei was startled. "Don't tell me…"

He slowly turned back, and the blood from his face drained when he acknowledged the figure five meter away from him. "Now I've got you!"

It was a bulky-looking male student; six feet tall, muscular; well, someone to be afraid of.

"You know this guy?" Minato asked Junpei, despite the fact that the guy was obviously terrified.

"Dude, can't talk. See ya! Gotta run! Bye!" And he dashed away to the opposite direction of the big student, staggering a few steps since he took off so quickly.

"Oh, you ain't going nowhere today, pal." The student started chasing down Junpei. With his massive build, every step on the floor he made were also massive. The floor was literally shaking.

They both disappeared from sight a moment later. But just three second later, a faint shriek could be heard from distance. Minato stood there, alone in the hallway, still dumbfounded from what had just happened.

The silence began growing.

"Guess I'll have to walk back alone," Minato said, sighing.

* * *

><p>"Now where should I go next?"<p>

He stopped upon reaching the school gate. He'd tried to re-imagine the scenario that he saw when Yukari brought him to school this morning; to no avail though. Obviously, he forgot the way back. Left now looked like right and right looked like left. Minato couldn't identify whether that he did come from the right or from the left this morning.

_Asking someone perhaps?_

A wise idea popped out in his mind. Minato decided that he could ask some of the students, or teachers the way to Iwatodai dorm. Because it was the only co-ed dorm around the area, the chance of having someone to know about seemed pretty high.

When he decided to go back into the building, he could see someone was walking towards the gate. Minato thought that it was a good idea to ask this person about the dorm, so he went for it.

That person was a girl. She has her hair tied up in a messy, ponytail style, with the color of brown, like Yukari's. She was walking straight ahead, but her mind was wandering somewhere along with the music she was drowning in with her small, red, clip-on headphones.

"Excuse me?" Minato approached the girl, politely wanting to ask her for direction.

The girl lifted her face up and looked at Minato's. It seemed like she'd just snapped back to reality. Abruptly, she took her headphones away from her ears and let them hang around her slender neck, and the music was playing quite loud. "I'm sorry, may I help you?"

"Um, I just wanted to ask for direction."

"Oh," she stared at him for a moment, which caused Minato to feel a bit uneasy. "Wait, aren't you the transferred student?"

"Yes, I am. How do you know?" he asked, but he already knew the answer to that. _Rumor spreads fast around here..._

"We're in the same class," she said simply. "And you were sleeping the whole time," along with a sigh.

"Hehe, I was too tired, since I've just moved here last night," scratching the back of his neck, Minato chuckled to hide his embarrassment.

"Anyways, what area are you staying in at the moment? I might know about it," the girl brought back to his question.

"Do you know the Iwatodai dorm?"

"You live around there?"

"No, I live there. You know where it is?"

Suddenly, a hint of surprise shown on her face. The girl's brows rose up, as if she'd just discovered some shocking event. Then, as quickly, she lowered her head, resting it on her first two fingers, the girl let a smile between her teeth. She looked at Minato again. "Sure, I know the way."

* * *

><p>"We're here." They finally came to a stop in front of the dorm. As she said goodbye and began to walk away, Minato blurted out.<p>

"I haven't asked for your name yet. Mine is Minato, Minato Arisato," and added a smile.

She turned around, said, "Our names sound alike then," she fixated a gentle smile. "Mine is Minako, Minako Haruki."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2- End<strong>_

* * *

><p>With that, Minako shows up! As obvious as it can be, she seems to react weirdly when Minato says that he is now living in the dorm, right? Well, just in case you haven't figured it out, she does...<p>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Persona series <em>


	3. Chapter 3: Coping with the mysteries

"Good afternoon."

Minato closed the door after saying goodbye to Minako Haruki, and a feminine voice greeted him from behind. Turning back, he could see a red-haired girl was standing a few meters away from him with her arms crossed. "Um, hi." He tried to greet back, and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling he had.

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm," the girl said.

_Kirijo... Where have I heard that name?_

"I'm Minato Arisato," introduced Minato. "I guess you knew it already, but I'm a new student here." Now with that, Minato had the first look at the girl. She was tall and beautiful. Wearing a long-sleeved white blouse and a dark skirt, this girl resembled to him of an adult. The redness of the ties around her neck combined with the maroon of her long hair, creating a strong aura of nobleness around her.

"I know that. In fact, I was the one who looked through your application," Mitsuru said. "You see, though I'm just a student here, I also hold the responsibility of supervising everyone here as well."

"Um… sure,"

"Having said that, I assume that you haven't been to your room yet, corrects?" she asked.

"Ah, about that..." Minato recalled, he'd lost the key to his room during the commotion when he was packing up his luggage. "You see... Well... I couldn't find it anywhere..." he dropped his face, trying to avert his eyes from the red head's gaze.

"Hm, that's quite unfortunate...," placing both her first fingers on her chin, Mitsuru seemed to be solving the matter. "I believe that we might have another copy of the key that I can provide for you, I'll have a look." And when said that, Mitsuru moved to behind the check-in counter near the door and grabbed one of the keys that was hanging on the wall. She handed it to Minato, not forgetting to remind him, "this is the last copy of it, so I suggest you to not lose it again, making another copy of it is advisable."

"Yes ma'am." Minato replied, half-jokingly. He tossed the key he'd just received from her in the air and caught it. "By the way, where is my room located?"

"You room should be located on the second floor, last room to the right," she answered. "But as you might have been informed, the room is only temporary. A new room in the boy's dorm will be readied for you in the next few days," and she continued. "As for now, make yourself comfortable while staying here."

"I do will," Minato picked up his backpack, which he left on the ground beside him, and began to walk towards the stairs at the end of the hallway. But before he could do that, Mitsuru interrupted:

"One more thing, I advise you that you should not go out during nighttime. You know how things these days. It's just for your own security."

"I won't, don't worry." Staying inside the dorm long would be trite, but for now, Minato spoke the truth. He wasn't planning to go outside tonight. He was still tired and extremely yearned for a good night sleep, because he spent the night before on a sofa. Saying a quick goodbye to the girl, Minato headed to his room.

The room was quite spacious, and it had a comfortable air as well. A desk placed against the wall, under the window, a closet to the right, a television in a corner, and a bed sat in front of it. Scattering around the middle of the room were all of his belongings. All were cardboard boxes, of course. He had this thought of opening up all the boxes to get his things out, but his fatigue figure disagreed with him. Soon he closed the door and found himself lying on the bed. Minato put an arm over his forehead and recapped all the things and people he encountered.

_The school is nice... Yukari Takeba, Junpei... Iori? Mitsuru Kirijo... Kirijo... _He remembered something. _Isn't Kirijo the group that sponsored that entire school and this building? _And he realized that he had just talked to one of the members of the most powerful family around.

His navy blue eyes protested to the light. _I'm so tired... And... What was happening on that night?_ He recalled the previous night. _What was it and why did it happen? But it seems like it doesn't happen during daytime..._

The bed gave him a feeling of tranquility.

_So many questions..._

And he slept.

* * *

><p>The blue haired boy had gone to the second floor, and shortly after that, the dorm's front door opened again, revealing a brunette lazily walked inside. She was Yukari Takeba.<p>

"Welcome back," the red-haired girl acknowledged her kohai.

"Yeah, I'm back," Yukari tiredly dragged herself inside. Closing the door behind her, she asked her senpai right away, "Is he back yet?"

"He is. He's gone back to his room just now, in fact," Mitsuru answered.

Yukari gave a long sigh and entered the dorm. She was aiming for the kitchen first. Why? For a cup of instant ramen, of course. The intensity in the archery club (despite that it was their first meeting after the long holiday) worn her out, plus, her lunch was tedious- a small sandwich bought from the school cafeteria; they were always flavorless.

As the water boiled she turned to Mitsuru and questioned, "the chairman is coming here tomorrow?"

Mitsuru, whose eyes were focusing on a newspaper, replied, "Precisely, and I need you to tell him to head back to the dorm as soon as school ends the next day."

_Why didn't just do that when you saw him before?_

"Yeah, I will." Slurping down the tasty ramen, her hand reached to a cup of water. She took a gulp, and remembered of something she and her senpais had discussed few days ago. "Oh, and are we gonna put him... you know," now the word refused to come out from her throat. "... put him... under experiment?"

"By 'experiment', I assume you mean 'observation'. Yes, we'll have to conduct that," the red head closed her paper, looking at Yukari. "You know we have to do that to determine whether or not he possesses one."

The brunette sighed once again,and decided to clean her meal. She said a good-night to Mitsuru and went back to her room. Upon reaching the boy's floor, she stopped for a short while to look down the hallway, at Minato's room's direction.

_I guess it's inevitable..._

* * *

><p>A few hours passed by, the lounge now became awfully quiet, only be broken by wind ticking on the windows. Mitsuru Kirijo was still seated herself in the comfortable couch, thoroughly scanning word-for-word on the newspapers. Occasionally, she would write down some notes and made a small statistic in her notebook to keep track on whatever she was pouring her heart and soul on. And sometimes, a frown of concern would form on her forehead. It was past eleven o'clock.<p>

Footsteps were heard a moment later. They were coming from the stairs. A boy walked down. He was a confident-looking student, dressed in a red vest, his hand had a jacket and was hanging it behind his back. "Still at work?" he was the first to speak.

"Yes. It appears that the number of victims of Apathy Syndrome has been increasing. Most of them were fine just the day before," Mitsuru took her eyes off from the paperwork and looked at the boy.

"Come on, you and I both know what causes it, and you know it better that it is _our_ job to eliminate that cause," he let out a smirk.

"Seems like you're planning to go somewhere,"

"I'm going out for a bit,"

"I know it is not within my authority to prevent you from doing this, but are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Relax, I'll be back in an hour. Besides, I'm just doing some practice. You don't have to worry," with that said, and boy headed out. The usual silence quickly came back. Mitsuru slightly shook her head and spoke to the door which the teen left by:

"This isn't a game, Akihiko..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3- End<strong>_

* * *

><p>For the next chapter, I'll try to enter the awakening scene, since I kinda ran out of idea of how to write the following scene in different style. But anyways, as always, I'll try to 'bend' the original plot a little bit! Just to make things sound 'fresher'<p>

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Persona series.<em>


	4. Chapter 4: She

Minato sighed as he entered another tedious day in school. The lectures had been for over quite some time ago, but the effect still lingered on him. He was lying on the desk, wishing for someone to drag him up to his feet so that he could go home, but the prayer seemed less likely to be happened. Yukari had gone somewhere as soon as class ended, perhaps she'd headed to her Archery Club, and Junpei- the boy he met yesterday- was caught once again. Apparently, the bulky student who was looking for him yesterday was the school's baseball team's captain. The reason for Junpei being violently escorted away was that he was neglecting the team's practices for weeks.

But no matter he wanted it or not, getting back to the dorm was something he had to do on his own. But really, going straight back there wasn't what he wanted to do at the moment, because he knew he would have nothing to do but sleep when he got back. That Mitsuru girl he met yesterday didn't strike him as someone he would have a relaxed conversation with. So he decided to roam around the school ground before heading back.

* * *

><p>Minato found the baseball team practice field. It was bursting with laughter and yelling from every direction. He wasn't sure why he picked this place to go first; perhaps he wanted to look for Junpei. After eying around for the guy, he finally found him.<p>

Junpei was running around the baseball field with his uniform on. Judging from his painful gasping, the guy had probably been running for quite a while. Apparently, instead of practicing along with the rest of the team, Junpei was forced to do endurance training by the captain.

"Two more laps, Iori! You're not done yet!" yelled the captain.

"What?" Junpei exclaimed through his violent breathing. "I've been... running... ten laps already!"

"Really?" For just a moment, the captain seemed concerned, but he quickly regained his normal, fearsome look. "Now let's make it fifteen instead!"

"What?"

Poor Junpei. Looking at his running posture, he seemed like he could just drop down and passed out any second, but the captain did not care. So did the coach; looked like this was just the beginning of his day.

At the corner of his eyes, Minato spotted the Track and Field team was also practicing behind the chained fence, both the boy and girl team. They were running with excitement and enthusiasm. Some were sprinting, some were jumping over the hurdles, and some were running distance. While checking out the team, Minato's attention was drawn onto one certain girl, not the team manager, who with tanned skin was writing down data for the team, but the girl with chestnut hair and red eyes. It was Minako. Minako Haruki, the girl he met the day before.

She was drying her sweat with a towel after her run. As Minato had observed, the girl was the leader of the run throughout the entire practice.

She was now slipping water from her bottle when she saw Minato was looking at her direction from afar. With a quick jerk at the head, she greeted him.

Not sure why that he did, but Minato waited for Minako to be done with her practice and accompanied together with her once again.

"So why did you wait for me?" Minako asked him that with a cheerful expression.

"Dunno. Thought that you might want to show me around," he said so, it was more of an excuse. He just wanted someone to show him the way back again. He was not a type of guy who remembered things.

"Really? Are you sure you're not interested in me?" the girl teased him. Minato knew that, but he just chuckled in reply. "Show you around, huh? Well, there's really nothing but the mall, and some shops at the train station. What do you wanna do?'

"I don't know, you show me."

"So then there's this place that I wanted to go. It's a ramen shop. Do you feel like eating?"

* * *

><p>And they arrived at the shop. Minato ordered a regular while Minako ordered a special order. Judging the way she talked to the owner, it seemed like she was a regular here.<p>

"Aw, come on Gensai-san! At least tell me what you put in the soup that makes it taste delicious!" pleaded Minako jokingly.

"Come now, Haruki-chan! You know I can't reveal my business' secret," the owner replied happily and returned to making the ramen for them.

"So, how's life here been treating you? Tough?" Minako turned to him.

"Not really, but it's only been two days here and I'm getting tired of school already," Minato told her. He remembered those long lectured that he had to hear from Mr. Ekoda- who was famous among the students as "the demon of the history of education". To Minato, he didn't like him because of his monotone voice and strictness. Just this morning, he was bashed in the head by a book when trying to doze off. Even worse, the very next period belonged to Ms. Toriumi, the homeroom teacher. She forced the whole class to take notes on the first day and they weren't short. So far, school was not making a good impression.

"That sucks. Thinking of joining a club? I heard they are opening for new members," Minako informed him. Something that Minato vaguely had an idea. He thought he saw something similar posted on the Bulletin Board this morning. "Sport teams also. What do you want to do?"

"I just entered a new school year so maybe later. I want to get used to the school before considering joining something," Minato said.

"Alright, but if you ever want to do it," Minako spoke. "just don't hesitate to do so."

The sweet smell of newly cooked ramen broke their conversation. Their orders were just set on the table for them. Minako happily fixed her stool in a more comfortable position before enjoying her meal. She grabbed the chopsticks, broke them apart, and said: "Itadakimasu!" She cheerfully slurped the noodles.

Minato looked at the girl's expression and also did the same. The ramen was delicious! No wonder the place was packed with customers. Listened closely, Minato could hear people were laughing and smiling while some chanted: "The ramen is so good!" Minato kept eating his ramen, not forgetting to give his gratitude to the red-eyed girl beside him.

Was it the ramen that made Minato oblivious about his surrounding or was it the owner was being sly? Now that he noticed, the man had been staring at the two teens for a while and seemed like Minako saw that as well. Just as she looked up, the man asked: "Is this gentleman your boyfriend?"

She choked, which almost made the noodles escaped through her nose. She coughed a few times and then reached for her water. After gulping it down, she glared at the man: "What?"

"You don't have to be so flustered, little miss," the man laughed. "Of all the time you've been coming here, this is the first that you actually bring someone, and it's a guy!"

"No! No, no, no, no, you don't understand! He's just a friend! I wanted to show him around the area. He just came here few days ago."

"Just came?" his attention shifted to Minato. "Well, hi there. What's your name?"

"Minato Arisato, sir."

"Well, well Arisato, you better treat Haruki well. She's a nice girl. Even I would want her as my daughter," the owner laughed again and returned to his work.

Beside Minato, Minako was sighing deeply. "Don't mind him; he makes jokes like this every now and then."

"It's fine,"

Cheerful once again, the red-eyed girl turned back to her bowl, which was by now cool down a bit. Now that he thought of that, Minato never noticed of her eyes before, the eyes that possessed the color of crimson red, a very unnatural color. Does she have contact lenses on? Minato asked himself that. He could have just asked the girl straight out, but after seeing the expression on her face while eating the ramen, who could have?

* * *

><p>The teens quickly finished their meals and paid. Well, it was Minato who paid the check, but was not of his politeness that he decided to cost his money, it was because of Minako begged him so. She told him that she forgot her wallet. Nevertheless, he paid, but wasn't it odd for someone who asked you out for a meal and forgot her money? Minato thought so.<p>

"Thank you very much! You saved me back there. I wouldn't know what to do without you!"

But what's done is done, Minato told himself that. The two were now leaving the station to go into a train, which would eventually take Minato back to the dorm.

On the crowded train, packed with students and businessmen and businesswomen, the two teens managed to find themselves a place to sit down. Once had settled down, Minako slid close to Minato and asked: "How's the dorm?"

"Huh?" Minato replied to the sudden question.

"Don't huh me! I'm asking you about the dorm which you are currently living in!" she nudged his arm, wondering if the boy had paid any attention to her, or to the headphones he'd put on a moment ago.

"Oh, sorry," he put away his headphones. "Not really a lot to say about. It's… fine, I guess. There's a few number of our classmates are living there."

"Like who?"

"So far, there's Yukari Takeba, and another one is Mitsuru Kirijo," Minato frowned, trying to make sure that was there anybody else beside the two girls he had named. "That's about it."

"You forgot Akihiko-senpai," Minako tried to remind him.

"Who?" he stared at the girl. "I never heard of that name before." It was true, the name was unfamiliar to him, and he was sure that Kirijo never mentioned him of a student with that name before.

"O-oh," she paused, as if to come up with an excuse. "H-he is a senpai in our school, pretty popular, especially around girls. I overheard one of the girls said that he lived in your dorm."

"Really? I wasn't informed of him yet, but maybe since I didn't ask. You seem to know a lot about stuff that are going around here."

"Not a lot, just common things. I actually moved back to this city about… 2 years ago," Minako told him.

"Move back? Where were you before?" Minato asked her.

"Well, I was born and raised here, but then somewhere along the way, I had to move to Kyoto to stay with my aunt,"

"You lived with your aunt, huh? How comes?" Up until now, Minato had already to start to feel like he was the only one making questions, but he couldn't help it but to keep asking more about the girl who appeared to have a very similar past to his.

"Ah… My parents… passed away…" the girl fell silent.

"Oh… sorry," and similar it was. Minako also was exactly like him, parentless. "I should have known…"

"That's alright, you don't have to say sorry," she smiled, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

"So why did you move back here? Why not stay with your aunt?"

"Her place was really nice. The people in her house were friendly and treated me very good. Also, she was an owner of a small dojo there,"

"Sounds like a decent place to live," Minato commented.

"I know, but I guess it's just my nature that I want to live independently," she continued on with her story. "So after a while living with her, I decided to move back here."

"Then you're living by yourself now?"

"Yeah, I live in an apartment, not too far away for your dorm. Anyways, that's enough about me. What's your story? You said you just moved back here just like me right? What happened?" Minako shifted herself on her seat so that she could talk to Minato in a more comfortable position.

"My story is somewhat like yours, you can say" he began to speak. "I was born here, but I moved to live with my aunt and uncle up in Tokyo after a… certain incident."

As if to understand Minato's implication, Minako once again fell silent. She scratched the back of her neck like she was seeking something nice to say back to him. She couldn't. "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. It happened ten years ago. It was a car accident, so fast that I couldn't even believe back then. As a kid, I kept telling myself that they were just out to buy me a toy or something, despite the fact that the people around me told me the truth," he chuckled bitterly. "But in any case, the school called so I packed things up and left."

There a heavy silence hung above the teens. The passengers before had departed from the train, in fact, there was only Minako and Minato left in the car. Without their conversation, the silence grew heavier, except for the sound of the wheels rolling on the track, and the voice of the speaker on the radio.

The train finally came to a stop and the two exited. Shortly after, they arrived at Iwatodai dorm.

* * *

><p>"This is my stop here," Minato was the first to say after a while.<p>

"Hey, Arisato?" Minako suddenly called out to him.

"What's up?"

"I'm very sorry about your parents. I also lost mine so I know how it feels like…" she bowed, as to show her compassion.

"Come on, I told you it's okay already. Besides, it's not your fault that my parents passed away, you shouldn't be apologizing to me," Minato reassured her.

"Phew, guess I was worry too much," she seemed relieved after hearing Minato said that. "Well, I'll be going then. Goodbye!" she turned and waved her hand in goodbye to the blue haired boy.

"See ya!" Before Minato could even open the door, he saw the girl turned back and said to him:

"Oh, and remember to stay in the dorm at night time. It can get pretty rough around here when night comes."

"I do will," not understanding her intention, Minato just simply said yes in response. Soon after, the girl's back disappear in the sea of people in distance.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 4 - End.<strong>_

* * *

><p>Well, not my best work here I must say. I spent heck of a long time just to finish a 2,500 words chapter and it's not even in my liking! Oh well, I tried my best to put a lot of my implications in here so I guess that's mission accomplished? In any case, next one should be awakening.<p>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Persona series.<em>


	5. Chapter 5: It feels like drug

When he entered the dorm, Minato was greeted by Yukari and a brown-haired, sophisticated-looking man, who was sitting, waiting for Minato. The man was in a brown suit, wearing a pair of glasses and having his long hair fallen behind his shoulders. After introducing themselves to each other, Minato found out that his name was Shuji Ikutsuki, also he was the Chief Director of Gekkoukan high school. For his appearance before Minato today, to put it simply, he was here just to welcome him, or so Yukari told him during the day.

"And where is Mitsuru, Takeba?" the man asked Yukari.

"She's upstairs, probably doing her work again," she jerked her thump at the direction of the stairs. "I tried calling her down, but she kept insisting to finish her work first."

"That's very like of her," Ikutsuki remarked. "But coming down to say hi never hurts…" he rolled his eyes to the ceiling and then set them upon Minato. "So I guess you've heard that you will be transferred to the boy's dorm in the next few days. As we speak, the room is temporarily unavailable, so it can take a little while longer before you can receive a proper room assignment. I apologize for all the troubles and inconveniences that you are having."

"It's alright, really," Minato smiled. "Besides, the room that I'm in right now isn't that all bad, I might actually enjoy staying there,"

"That's good. Anyway, since I'm already here, is there anything in your mind you'd like to ask?"

"As for right now, no, but maybe I'll come up with one as time goes,"

"Well, just as a side-note, I'll inform about the number of students who are living here," he brought his hand up and began to count them off. "There's Yukari Takeba and Mitsuru Kirijo, whom I believe you've already met. There's also a senior named Akihiko Sanada, but at the current time, I don't think he's present." He let out a sighed and said something behind his breath. Then he stood up as he eyed the watch on his wrist. "Anyway… I have some businesses to take care of. I hope you have a successful year and may no one push you around as your time is spent here." Then he left, leaving behind an awkward air.

"Don't worry, I got used to it quite some time ago," Yukari broke the awkwardness and spoke to Minato.

"I hope I can, too… but he does have a good personality," he remarked. "But really, he can't tell no joke."

"I know, right?" she got on her feet and swung her arms upward to stretch. "Man, I'm beat. Toriumi-sensei can be a pain sometimes. You're probably tired, taking an earlier sleep would be a good idea," she advised.

"Yeah, I should. Good night, Takeba-chan," Minato said to the girl as she was heading toward the stairs.

"You too, Arisato-kun! Sweet dream~"

* * *

><p>Advanced deeper into the night, in a certain place in the dorm, something rather suspicious was taking place. It was an observation- a "secret observation" one would say, or "spying" in another person's mouth. The subject of this "observation" was nothing but the young Minato Arisasto himself. He was being spied on through the well-hidden camera in his room. The people who were committing this act? The innocent Yukari Takeba and the diligent Mitsuru Kirijo.<p>

_This doesn't seem right at all…_ was Yukari's thought. At the beginning when she first found out that the new guy would be placed under a heavy observation for days before he could transfer anywhere else, she was the only one out of the four who were against this idea. The Chairman and Mitsuru were agreed to each other almost immediately, as if they had planned this a long time ago. As for Akihiko-senpai, he was… indifferent. Akihiko Sanada showed less to no concern to this matter, in fact, at some point, he was even interested about the concept of having a new member in the team.

_What if he refuses? What are they going to do? Force him in? _She let out a long sigh.

"What's the matter, Takeba? Are you tired?" Mitsuru, the red-haired girl who was concentrating on the huge monitor, asked.

"No, it's just something at school that bugs me," she lied.

"Well, whatever it is, you shouldn't let it interfere with your tasks here,"

_Yeah, sure, whatever…_

Just as the conversation between the two died off, a man made an entrance to the room. He was Shuji Ikutsuki, the chairman. Nodded his head in good evening at the two girls, he calmly made his way toward a chair and sit down behind them.

"How is he doing?" asked Ikutsuki.

"He turned off the light a moment ago. He is sleeping as we-" Mitsuru tried to inform him, but was stop when she saw his finger point at the screen behind her.

"Doesn't seem like it from what I'm seeing,"

The two girls quickly turned their attention toward the monitor and were surprised by what they saw…

Minato kicked away the bed blanket which he was using to cover himself. It was steaming hot in the room tonight. He sat up, dragged himself to the edge and sat there silently for a moment.

* * *

><p><em>What was that all about?<em>

Trying to recall the dream he just had earlier, Minato decided to turn on the light and dropped himself on the chair in front of the desk.

_Who was that man?_

That man was a man in suit with an abnormally long nose he saw in the dream. He could only recall part of their conversation they had; something about commitment and unique strength. Also, the long-nosed man, who went by the name 'Igor', gave out something to him. Something small, blue…

He stuck his hand down his pocket abruptly.

And found a key.

* * *

><p>"What's he doing?" Yukari asked.<p>

"It appears that he's checking something on his hand," the chairman replied. "Mitsuru, do you think you can magnify that a bit more?"

_There goes his last piece of privacy…_

Just as the screen was zoomed in enough to see what kind of object Minato was holding in his hand, he closed his hand abruptly and stood up, staring straight out the window, since once again, that 'hour' had come.

"Well, at least now we can confirm that he can stay up pretty late," the chairman made a pun then he sat back in the chair, folded his arms and crossed his legs, and said, " As we all have known, every night at exact twelve, the world advances into this time that we like to call "The Dark Hour". For a normal person, he or she would be morphed into a coffin and stay that form until the time passes away in the next hour.

"But here as we can see, he is still pretty aware of his surrounding and in fact, he doesn't seem like this is the first time he's seen it."

"But what if he is like you?" Yukari asked. "I mean, he can be just active during the hour like you, without the ability…"

"I know, Yukari-chan, and that is why we should continue on our observation for a few more days… just to make sure."

"If you say so…" Uncertain of what to say next, she decided to sit back silently and kept on watching Minato until the hour passed away and he went back to sleep.

As she exited the control room, Mitsuru stopped her by the hall and asked her for a favor. She asked, "I've learned that you and he are in the same homeroom, right?"

"Uh, yeah,"

"So for the next few days, perhaps even weeks, can you keep an eye on him?" She continued, "We now know that he can stay up during the "Dark Hour" so he can become very vulnerable and such,"

"Sure, I think I can manage that," Yukari shrugged.

"I know you've never called 'it' before, but still, I cannot keep my eyes on him 24/7. Can I rest this matter to you?"

"Uh…" she backed down a little, then decided and said, "Yeah, you can."

"Good, and thank you," Then she turned and walked down the stairs.

Yukari waited a bit before followed her down and backed to her own room.

_Man… I'm beat…_

* * *

><p>The day was tedious one, not because of the lousy tone of Mr. Ekoda nor the weird lessons of Mr. Edogawa about mythology. It was because Minato could not sleep throughout the whole night. Who would sleep easily when you found out that the world could turn inside-out every night? Well, he wouldn't. What if there was a monster? Kind of childish, he knew, but not every day you got hit in the face by: "The world turns green every night, did you know that?" kind of situation…<p>

Again, it was tedious, except when school was out; he saw Minako and Mitsuru-senpai were talking… actually, "arguing" seemed to be the more accurate word. But not the one that caused everyone to gather around. It was more of the one that made him think that he should better stay away.

He couldn't make it clear out about what they were arguing about, but Minako seemed pretty mad and upset. She stormed away past Mitsuru and Minato without even noticing him. As for Mitsuru, she sighed, glanced at him, and calmly walked away.

He thought of going after Minako and asked what happened, but… never mind that.

He waited until the sun was about to go down before going back the dorm, and until pretty late before going back to his room. He did all of his homework and looked at the clock. It said 12:21 PM.

It was green outside.

He looked around the room, trying to "inspect' it a bit further. Didn't know why, he just felt like doing it. He blamed that he now had this feeling of insecure after going through another extraordinary night. At first he thought he was just hallucinating after all the traveling and commotion, but after the previous night, he came to the conclusion that what he was experiencing was real. Perhaps he was just being paranoid, but it did feel like he was being watched. Maybe that camera knew something…

_Wait… What the? How did that camera get here?_

…

BAM!

* * *

><p>They rushed down the stairs after Akihiko's distressed call. When they reached the bottom, he was already down there, sitting against the front door, left hand holding his right shoulder, with a frowned expression.<p>

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru called out and rushed toward him with a single delay. "Are you alright?"

"This?" He chuckled "Ain't nothing. What you're about to witness is more of a surprise than this,"

"This is no time for that!" She scolded him, and as that time, Yukari was finally there.

"Senpai! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine,"

Just as he answered, the door slammed against his back, causing him to flinch. Panic, he used his legs to push himself against the door to seal it tighter. "Dammit!"

"Takeba! Go upstairs and get Minato right now! Get the key to the backdoor on the counter and escort him out of here. Fast!" She looked at Yukari until she ran up the stairs and turned to Akihiko, "As for you, since you brought them here, I guess you have no choice but to fight them back with me."

"Seems like a _perfect_ plan to me,"

* * *

><p>Yelling and banging was all Minato could hear after the first loud bang. Panic and confused, he was unsure of what he should do next. Taking a wild choice, he approached the door and reached for the knob, but it moved away when he reached for it. The door was open. It was Yukari Takeba.<p>

"I've got no time to explain, but we have to go and we have to go NOW!" She yelled.

Seeing her expression, he went along with her down the stairs, through the kitchen and to a door that he had never seen before in the corner. When she tried for the key, she dropped because of her shaking hands and staggering legs. So she bent down quickly, and Minato asked her, "What is going on?"

"Can't tell you, yet!" she yelled at him again, and realized she was raising her voice. "Sorry, but first we should get out of here first!"

BAM!

"Eeek!" she jumped back, as the door in front of her was budging. "They're here!"

"The front door!" Minato tried to tell her.

"We can't! They are out there that way, too!" she turned back and pointed at the stairs. "Quick! We have to go up!"

He followed her without asking any more questions.

* * *

><p>"Damn! Where is it? It's not here!" Akihiko yelled out.<p>

"Why are there so many of them gather in one place?" Mitsuru said.

"How the hell would I know?" he yelled back and punched another one. "This never ends!"

"Need any help?" From a dark corner, a voice spoke out. Then came a figure holding an object that looked like a gun in its right hand.

"You're the last one we expect to come," Akihiko chuckled and turned to Mitsuru. "You guys hold them back, I'll go after Yukari and him!"

"Okay!" Mitsuru said and glanced at the person. "Thought you wouldn't come here again..." she said to the person.

"I didn't, just following the Shadows,"

* * *

><p>"It should be safer here, I hope." Yukari rested her hands on her knees to catch a breath after she had done locking the door behind her.<p>

"Can you _now_ tell me what the heck is going on?" Minato was really pissed and he was demanding for some answers. He could notice that it was at 'that' hour again and as he could see, Yukari was pretty much active.

She slowly turned her head around to face him, somewhat unsure of what to tell him. She glanced at the sky, as if to find the right words up there. "Well… you see…"

She stopped and her eyes suddenly widened in fear as she saw something behind Minato.

Followed her expression, Minato turned back and what he saw… It was not anything that he could call normal…

Black and slimy, many hands carrying sword in each with one holding a blue mask. This disgusting and dreadful creature slowly approached the teens with its killing intend clear as the ginormous green moon glimmering behind it.

He was frightened. He legs were numb as so his whole body, except his mind was chaos. He did not realize it until Yukari yanked him by the hand and made him to jerk backward for her to stand in front of him and the monster. He could hear her breath, and he could also hear that she was mumbling something under her breath. Something like: "I'm the only one can protect this guy right now."

Then she reached down to her waist and pulled out a pistol from the hoister that Minato didn't even notice it was there the whole time. In his mind, he was thinking that they probably had some chances against this… thing. But even before he could finish hoping that, instead of pointing at the monster, she was pointing the barrel… at her temple.

"Hey! Are you nut?" Minato screamed out to her, trying to stop her from her foolish act.

"Just trust me!" She screamed back at him, but also was distracted for a split second…

The monster went for the pistol, by throwing one of its swords at it, barely missed Yukari's head.

She was dumbfounded for a moment as her weapon got taken away from her hand without a warning. Yukari frantically looked around for the gun, but when her eyes located the gun, the floor under her feet exploded, which sent her flying across the cold ground until she slammed against the wall.

It was only him and the monster left, he thought. Him, a random, nameless, transferred student from Tokyo, against this thing. He had zero experience when it comes to fighting a monster, or any kind of normal fight. And to be frank, he knew that he was about to die.

_Do you want to live?_

An image of a familiar boy popped up in his head. It was the same boy appeared on his first night coming here.

_If yes…_

The boy bent down, picked up the gun, and placed it in Minato's hand.

…_then do it._

With his hands still holding Minato's, he guided it so that the gun would point at Minato's head.

_Just pull the trigger, and I'll handle the rest…_

Minato panted madly like his life was depending on it. HE realized now that he was having a gun pointed at his head now.

_Come on…_

He stared at the beast and then to Yukari, who was unconscious on the ground.

_It's alright…_

Something hit him… He exhaled, and his heartbeat slowed down magnificently and went back to normal. And suddenly, he felt the urge to laugh. Placing a grim smile across his lips, he triggered.

* * *

><p>Akihiko sprinted up the stairs as fast as he could to find the two teens. When he came back from outside, he had noticed that the backdoor was still locked, and the lock assembly was broken. With just his intuition, he decided to try for the rooftop, as the teens might have been up there already.<p>

Something was happening behind the door, he could hear it. He banged on the door but no one answered just some groaning and shrieking. The door was locked tight so he backed down to gain some momentum, and then charged at the door, hoping to break it open.

First try, didn't work. He stepped back again and now finished it off with a kick. The door pried open, and he could only see Yukari, the girl was out-cold on the ground.

He ran to Yukari, and tried to call for her. "Hey! Yukari! Can you hear me?"

She regained her consciousness, and opened her eyes. "Akihiko-senpai? Quick! You've gotta help him!" She raised her finger to point at the direction behind Akihiko.

He turned, and heard a gunshot.

* * *

><p><em>Persona…<em>

A humanoid creature appeared hovering above Minato's head. It was almost like a man, with robotic limbs and a harp hanging on its back. White hair and dark face, but besides from that it somewhat resembled Minato's appearance.

_I am thou… _

…_thou art me. _

_From the sea of thy soul I come. _

_I am Orpheus, Master of Strings._

The creature spoke out loud before sending out a painful shriek. Minato fell down to his knees as a stinging pain shot through his head. Holding his head in agony, he violently screamed out in pain. As for the creature, a pair of hands punctured through its chest from the inside and fiercely tore it apart, revealing a new figure.

A giant, humanoid monster wearing a dinosaur mask. It was wearing a black coat with numerous of coffin hovering around its body. It stared at the black, slimy monster as to confirm its target before dashing towards it with inhuman speed, and thrust its sword through the blue mask that the monster was carrying. It twisted the sword, causing the mask to crack and break down to pieces, and as if all of its energy had been taken away, the rest of the monster's body went limp. But it didn't stop, the coated monster kept on slicing and smashing and slicing the creature. It cut the arm, chopped the body in half, and went for another the arm. It went on for another long thirteen second, before it was all but a black mass on the floor. After finished, it turned back to Minato, still panting hard with all the adrenaline rushes, and stared at him for a long moment. It let out a scream of a caged lion that had long been seeking for its freedom, the disappeared into the dark night.

The battle stopped, and they could see Minato was flat on the floor. They both rushed to where he laid and called out his name. "Hey! Wake up!" Yukari slapped him lightly on his cheek, but the guy looked unconscious. "Come on! Don't die on me!"

"We've got no time! I'll bring him to the hospital," Akihiko dragged Minato up to his feet and tried to put him on his back, but the injury on his shoulder bothered him. "Dammit!"

"But it's still the Dark Hour."

"By the time I get there, I will be back to normal," he carried him away.

* * *

><p>The chairman remained in his seat in the control room and watched all that happened. After Mitsuru joined in with Akihiko and Yukari to rush Minato to the hospital, he was alone in the room with the person that helped Mitsuru when they were fighting off the Shadows outside.<p>

"He is quite the special, isn't he?" Ikutsuki remarked.

"Indeed he is…" The person was still surprised after witnessing Minato's strange ability.

"You know… why don't you come back to us?"

"Why do ask me that question for? You already know the reason I'm not here anymore,"

"Well, I'm just giving you my suggestion. The choice is all yours in making the decision,"

"I'm saying that it's done." Then the person exited the room.

The chairman sighed and placed his hand on his forehead. He looked at the monitor and then to the door that she had just walked through. "I just wish you never left, Haruki-chan,"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 5 - End<strong>_

* * *

><p>I wanted to say something like: "Boom! Surprise Motherf****" but that just too extreme... Wait... ._. I said it...<p>

So yeah, there you go you faithful readers, who have spent their time on this fanfic. I thank you for staying for this long. Just a small confession. After I finished chapter 4, I continued and wrote 784 words for this chapter before I got lazy and stopped. Just today, yes, just today I dicided to write the rest of them and upload it as fast as I could. There it is! TA-DA!

Anyway, this is one long author's note I have written so far, should stop by now.

Happy reading guys, and be waiting for the next chapter (which I honestly don't know when it will arrive...)

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Persona series.<em>


	6. Chapter 6: Minako Haruki

When he regained his consciousness, Minato found that he was in that room again, the room with the strange man. The atmosphere was as still and silent like the last time he got here. The long-nosed man, who was now known as Igor, was sitting in the seat opposite from Minato, fingers crossed, eye closed, as if he was anticipating for him. There was a difference though, when he was here last time, Igor was alone. This time, he was accompanied with another woman, who was dressed in blue, so to match the surrounding.

"Good evening, my dear guest," he said. "It seems like you have finally awaken to your power."

Still shocked from what had just happened moment ago, Minato was unsettled. He sprung up from his chair and dashed his eyes around. "What?" He went for Igor, "Hey! What happened to Takeba-chan?"

"Please settle down," he looked at Minato. "Your friends are perfectly fine. In the matter of fact, they are actually trying to help you in the real world."

"The real world?" He frowned, questioning the man. "What do you mean by that?"

"You see, the room we are in right now is known as the 'Velvet room , a place exists between reality and dream, mind and matter. Though you may feel your present in here with us at the meantime, your body is still intact and functioning normally in the outside world."

"So it's a dream?"

"That's one way you can put it," the man chuckled.

"Then what has just happened with me in the normal world?"

"Like I have said, you have found your way to manifest your true ability," he continued on. "The power that you have just called forth is known as _Persona, _and it looks like it was Orpheus who heeded to your calling. It is a power when on has reached the manifestation of their psyche. It may take some times for you to fully comprehend it so please, do not be worried too much.

A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli… You can think it as a mask that protects you as you brave through many hardships."

"Huh?" He was dumbfounded with all the information that Igor tried to stuff in his head. "So… they are like… guardians?"

"Well, if you want it to be put that way, yes, they are your guardians, but in your case, it is special."

"How special?" He asked. The idea of being special intrigued him.

Igor chuckled. "You, my dear guest, are the holder of the Wild Card- the ability to bear multiple Personas at once, but the detail to that is rested to our further meetings in the future, since time marches on in both world, I cannot hold you here too long."

"Just one more question before I leave," he pointed to the blue woman, who was standing beside Igor. "Who's she?"

"Ah, my apology. She is Elizabeth, she is also a resident her, like myself," Igor replied.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Elizabeth bowed slightly, greeting Minato.

"Uh, please to meet you, too."

"Now then… I shouldn't keep you here any longer. The next time you come here will on your accord," Igor made a gesture with his right hand. "Until then, farewell."

* * *

><p>She walked in the hallway of Iwatodai hospital, feeling a bit guilty and nervous, though nothing that she did was wrong. Yukari had thought that because of her lack of strength that Minato was the way he was right now. It had been two days straight and the guy was still sleeping, as the doctor told them. On the night that Akihiko-senpai carried him here, the doctor had informed them that he could not seem to find nothing was wrong with Minato, and he was just like some guy who drifted off to sleep due to energy depletion. However, to be able to sleep two days straight, that was nothing normal, and he was expected to remain in that state longer.<p>

She slid the door to his room open and found Mitsuru and Akihiko there. The boy in red vest was sitting on the sofa with his arm folded, while the girl was standing before him, speaking something until Yukari walked in.

"Hey," Yukari greeted. "How's he doing?"

"Same as yesterday, they found he was stirring this morning but otherwise, he's sleeping," Akihiko replied.

"That so…" she got quiet, all of sudden feeling guilty, and Akihiko noticed this.

"C'mon now, we both know it's not your fault," her senpai was trying to soothe her. "Besides, whatever the guy did was pretty astounding, we should be happy to be able to have someone like him in the team."

"Well, that is for him to decide…"

"Oh… I forgot," he put up a silly smile. "Anyways, my checkup here is done so I'll go do some business at the dorm." He stood up, not forgetting to grab the jacket which he rarely actually put on, but always carried around on his shoulder.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Mitsuru asked.

"Like I always am, fine and dandy," he snickered.

"I advise you not to overexert yourself for the next few weeks. You know your shoulder is injured after the attack. Remember what I told you earlier,"

"Alright, alright, I know…" he grunted, showing a hint of displeased.

The two girls looked as the silver haired boy walked away.

"You'll have to excuse me here. There are works from the student council that I have to deal with. Will you be able to look after him?" Mitsuru asked.

"Sure, you go ahead. I'll…just stay here for a bit,"

Mitsuru walked out leaving the blue haired boy to Yukari's care.

* * *

><p>It was not on her mind at the time, but in a way, she had already suspected this to happen. As she was making her way down the long hospital hallway, Mitsuru spotted a young, familiar brunette girl, who was talking to one of the nurses at the counter. The girl looked up to the hallway to spot Mitsuru, she let a quiet disappointing sigh out before thanking the nurse , and tried to ignore the presence of Mitsuru.<p>

"I would come back in a different time if I was you," she hinted.

"He's still unconscious?" Minako asked in a half-hearted tone, without facing Mitsuru. Waiting for her response, but instead there was none, so she spoke, "Okay, I'll come back later,"

As she turned back and passed Mitsuru, parts of Minako prayed that she would not ask her for anything else and just let her go away silently, rudely.

She did call for her.

"Why do you keep doing this?"

"I've told you," her answer came up almost immediately, like it had long been planted in her mind. "Because you should have told me everything I need to know at the very beginning."

"You knew it wasn't the right time and place,"

"No, I didn't, and I didn't know a crap about it!" Her reply was close to a shout in anger, and she finally turned back to face Mitsuru. She could feel the blood was rushing to her head, and her eyes were bulging. All at once, the lounge turned silence and she could feel the heavy stares of all eyes fell upon her. "No," she shook her head, calming herself. "We're not doing that today," with that, she stomped out.

* * *

><p>Perhaps she went a bit overboard, Minako thought. Maybe she overacted over such small matter.<p>

"No, it wasn't small," she heard herself say.

She sighed, and stopped walking to recollect her sanity. She did not want to blow out like that. She blamed the bad breakfast she had earlier this morning, plus, it was also her very mournful day. Tired from the anger, she picked up her pace and went to the station.

* * *

><p>As always, the ramen shop was crowded and flooded with the sweet scent every time. People were chowing down happily on their bowls. The steam and hotness in the shop did not impede Gensai-san's dexterity in bending, folding, flattening the dough which would eventually become the ramen. He did this every Sunday as a way to show off his masterful skill that he had inherited from his father.<p>

At the stools, she saw a young man she had known for more than just a while. He was still wearing his beaning and a thick maroon color coat, despite the thickness in the air. His name was Shinjiro Aragaki, one of her senpais. At least he used to be. The guy hardly seen at school anymore, the last time he went there was a few weeks ago. Minako was impressed by how he hadn't got kicked out yet, maybe he only had a few days left.

Naturally, she picked a seat next to him. Minako noticed he gave her a quick glance in greeting, and shifted his eyes back on 's performance again.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Not much less than yesterday," it took him a few second to answer, but he did, which was a plus to his normally cold figure.

"Well, I'm fine if you're wondering," she giggled and noticed how had laid his attention on her. "Hey,"

"Ah, the young lady is back again. What would you like for today?"

"I'll have whatever he's having," she jerked her head sideway at Shinjiro, which made him grumbled a little, but it only amused Minako even more.

The old owner turned back to his adeptness at handling the dough in his hands. She watched with astonishment filled her eyes and the old man throwing and slapping the flattened dough against the floury table. Like magic, soon, the dough was spitted into strings and strings of ramen, and the old man quickly dipped them inside the boiling water. He shifted hastily to preparing the bowls for her and Shinjiro's orders.

"So what brings you here today?" Shinjiro asked after a while. "Obviously not cuz' of the food,"

"You're still pretty good at reading people," she remarked.

"So… what is it? I don't have a lot of time,"

"And you still have enough to squeeze out some to enjoy a hot meal?" she giggled, her sarcastic tone put a half smile to Shijiro's lips. "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you some stuff about at the dorm."

"The dorm?" Shinjiro raised a brow. "I thought you had no affiliation with that place anymore,"

"I still don't, but here's the thing," She received her meal. "The dorm was attacked by some Shadows the other day, but they were no normal ones. They were different, some were huge,"

Shinjiro kept on slurping his noodles, still listening to her. "They are becoming stronger, but I didn't come here to tell you that. Apparently, there's a new student at the dorm,"

"The transferred kid?" He spoke.

"Yeah, you know about him?"

"Word on the street spreads,"

"Well, what else do you know?"

"Dude can also summon a different _Persona,_" he said while his attention was still on his half-eaten meal.

Minako smiled then. She already knew it was Akihiko who told him. _They still keep a closed eye on each other_, she thought. "It seemed like this 'street' you talk about is pretty lively,"

"More like annoying," he paused, looking at her bowl. "You're gonna finish that?"

"You can have it, I'm done," she stood up. "But you're paying,"

"You still don't change," Shinjiro chuckled.

"Anyway, I think I'm done here as well, since you know all I have to tell you already," she slapped his shoulder playfully. "See you around,"

She turned and left the shop, bidding farewell to the owner as she walked out, oblivious to her senpai, who was waiting for her leave to take the two pills from his jacket. He swallowed them bitterly and turned back to his remaining meal.

* * *

><p>Minako went back to her apartment. It was about four kilometers from the school, including the train ride. It was also the nearest apartment she could find in the parameter. She used her bike to travel to the station and from there; she took the train and walked the rest of the way. On her way back, she passed by the Wild-Duck burger to get some quick meal for tonight as she was lazy to cook one. It hit her that buying food at the place she worked in had some benefits, like getting a free soda and fries.<p>

She petted the white dog like usual before getting back to her room. She had learned that the dog belonged to the local shrine. _He was on his normal walk again today as well_, she thought to herself and wished that the landlord had allowed animals. But then again, the dog wouldn't want to stay with her anyway. She shrugged, watched the dog wagging its tail slowly as he disappeared in the distance.

She flicked the switch, turning the light on, and just stood there, staring at the picture she had on her desk. Taking it in her hand, she dropped on the bed and traced her finger along the frame, while curling herself up like a lonely cat.

"I miss you guys," she was talking to herself now. It had become something like a ritual. Every year, when it was either of their birthdays, or burial days, she would curl up in a corner, holding tightly the picture of her and her parents in her hands and just started talking.

Soon, the comfort from the talking came and shooed away her loneliness. She drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 6 – End<strong>_

* * *

><p>It wasn't how I planned it to be but anyway I'm done with yet another chapter! Do note that this story can be sometimes very heavy on these following characters: Minato, Minako, and well, Koromaru.<p>

What? Did I hear Koromaru, the dog? Yes, it's true, I've planned to write on this guy for a long time now, since in the game it doesn't really tell you much about Koromaru's story. :P

Stay tuned!


	7. Chapter 7: Explanation?

Peek-a-boo…

* * *

><p>"Here you go, just as you requested," Yukari handed Minato the juice can with a smile running across her lips. "Do you need anything else?"<p>

"Nah, I think I'm good for the moment," Minato replied to her genuine concern. He did feel bad for asking her to go and get his favorite drink, but since the tap water in the hospital did no good for his tasteless mouth, he could not help himself.

"Thank god you're still alive and well. We thought you were a goner for sure," she joked with an awkward smile, which faded when she received an indifferent reaction from Minato. "Oh… I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's just that I'm still pretty shocked at what happened. I mean, I was out for the whole week, and now I feel just fine, like nothing has happened,"

"Yeah, about that..." Yukari turned quiet for a moment. She knew what has to be said but still, the reality was a bit too extreme for Minato. After a deep breath, she began:

"You remember the things that we saw on the dorm's rooftop the other day? Those things, we call them Shadows. As for their origin, I'm not sure myself, but for one thing, they are not friendly. From what I know, they are the cause of the Apathy Syndrome that you may have seen around lately, and the syndrome seems to affect this city a lot more than the others.

"Anyway, that thing that you... summoned, the one when you shot yourself in the head, we call them Personas. Frankly, I don't know much about them either, but you can say that we are the few 'chosen ones' " she made a quotation gesture, which amused Minato. "I guess you already know their job."

"Wow..." he was already more or less familiar with the subject. He was more surprised by the fact that Igor told him the exact same thing that Yukari was telling him now, but with lesser details.

"I know right, I was shocked myself when I found out about it, too."

"So when did you... you know, figured out," Minato asked.

"As soon as I applied to the dorm, I think it was about half a year ago," she paused, hesitated. "Truth to be told, I've never once summoned my Persona, I just get to know about it. Yours was the third one that I saw, Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai were the first."

There was a short pause of silence.

"How was it?" Minato suddenly said.

"What?"

"My Persona. How was it?"

"Well he... it resembled you a lot, minus the dark face and white hair, although..." Yukari averted her eyes. "You then summoned a different one,"

"Really? Is that a bad thing?"

"No, no, not at all, you saved my life so it wasn't a bad thing. It's just that to be able to summon two different ones, it's just really... amazing,"

"Hey, don't sweat it. You were scared, I was, too."

"Oh, but... you can't say that, I mean, I was supposed to protect you there, but in the end, it happened the other way around," she felt somewhat insecure, since she knew that Minato could read her so easily. She did feel sorry for not being able to protect the guy, but another part of her was relief that he tried to reassured her. "A-anyway, I should get going, the doctors told me that you will be released as soon as you wake up. They didn't find anything wrong with you so don't worry too much about it." She stood, and exited the room, not forget to say a quick goodbye beforehand.

She is charming... Minato thought to himself. She had a nice figure, one that would easily distinct her from the rest of the crowd. It felt a bit awkward to talk to a pretty girl like her, with him being an introvert and all. That and plus the the fact that he had had awful experiences with women in the past.

Never did have a girlfriend. though he tried, but usually his attempts ended up failing. Maybe he just did not know how to read the situation right and always confessed at the worst possible moments. Or maybe because of his spontaneous certain state of emotion.

It smells horrible in here, he thought. The mixed odor of alcohol and chemicals sickened him, and the little fragrant of Yukari's perfume left behind only intensified it. He pulled the sheet over his face to isolate him from the smell, although he would give up the idea a minute later.

What was this all about to him? The monsters, the 'Personas', and the Green Night. Obviously, through Igor's words, they all seemed to connect with one another. But what exactly does it mean to him? Did Yukari also one of Igor's guests? Why was it special that he had two of these Personas? And why him?

He groaned, and his voice simply died out in the empty room.

Later that evening he was discharged.

* * *

><p>In the next morning he was greeted with an absurd amount of questions. His classmates was 'fascinated' by him, or to be exact, by his odd disappearance after the first few days of school. A lot of students, all strange faces to him, asked if he was fine, while others just asked if he'd just recovered from the 'Apathy Syndrome'. Of course, Minato just slapped back with a flat answer every time: He was sick. And if people insisted on more questions, he would just ignore them. But that was not the end of it. The homework that was waiting to be piled up was another of his problems. You still have to do it even if your life was hanging by strand of hair, he reckoned.<p>

As the final hour ended, Yukari once again approached him with a message. She told him to come straight back to the dorm as soon as possible. She did not tell him the reason, but Minato guessed he could faintly get the hint.

You're popular now, Minato.

* * *

><p>When he got back to the dorm, Yukari immediately dragged him three floors up the building. She stood him in front of a large double door he had never seen previously. They were on the top floor, and on the opposite side was the door the led to the rooftop, where also was the place Minato passed out.<p>

Standing still, she eyed Minato for a moment as if to check if he was dressed nicely. She took a large breath in and let it out hastily.

"Look, whatever we're going to say to you in there is not a commitment. So if you don't like where it will go, just back out, ok? There's no reason you should feel bad about anything," she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ok..." he looked at her awkwardly.

They entered the room.

There were already three people in there expecting for Minato. One was the red haired Senpai who gave him the key to his room on his second day here. Another was the middle aged man who he talked briefly to, and the other, a tough, handsome looking boy in red vest, whom Minato had no idea was. They were all sitting on couches surrounding a coffee table.

"Please, have a seat," the middle aged man said, flashing a smile. "Don't worry, we don't bite."

When Minato sunk in the sofa, he shifted so that he could position himself near the end of the chair. Yukari took a place next to him, as to assure that he wouldn't feel uncomfortable to whatever conversation they were about to have.

"So," the man started. "I assume you already knew what this will be about," he made a hand gesture towards the red-vested boy and the boy produced a silver briefcase from under the table. The rectangle object made a thud as it landed on the table. "Oh, before we begin, I would like to introduce you to mister Sanada here. Akihiko Sanada."

"Hey," Akihiko quickly unlocked the briefcase but he didn't open it. Instead, he sat back and proceeded to fold his arm across his chest while his eye glued on Minato's still-tired figure.

"This in here is the proof that you are on our team," the man said, placing a hand on the briefcase. "Now I am not in any position to make any suggestion, nor I am in the right to force you into anything. That's all I wanted to say first. I believe that miss Yukari Takeba has already disclosed to you briefly about... our line of work." He then looked toward Yukari, who made a sudden jerk with her body.

"Y-yeah," she slid back deeper into the chair, slightly tugging at the end of her skirt. "Minato took it all in quite well actually,"

"Good," a smile lit up at the corner of the man's lips and he finally opened the heavy briefcase.

Inside revealed an object that most would either be excited, or jumped at the sight. It was a small pistol. Coated in silver, the firearm was decorated with an odd design. On it, printed: "S.E.E.S", which he wanted to make a remark of but found it inappropriate for the situation. The gun lied snugly in the space provided within the case with next to it lied a red armband, also, with the same line on the gun written on it.

"We are a secret organization called Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or 'Sees' in short," the man began. "As you could see in the other night, a creature, which we name 'Shadows' put out a assault on the dorm. Now the origin of these Shadows is still very hazy to us, but from what we know at the moment, these Shadows only appear during the hidden hour between one day and the next. Or the "Dark Hour" as we like to call it."

"The wha-?" Minato spoke, frowning. "You mean when it's green out?"

"Yes, the 'green' time. The lights go out, all electrical devices are off, coffins appear, but I understand that you are very well aware of this strange phenomenon,"

He wanted to said something back. He wanted to say that he just found out about this odd occurring recently, but he reckoned it wasn't necessary. Strangely though, he noticed that the green thing only happened once he set foot on the city... more than a week ago.

"So far," the man, or Ikutsuki now that Minato remembered continued. "We found that the Shadows cannot be harm by any normal mean. Guns, blades, bombs... you name it, a normal weapon has little to no affect on these creatures. Well, at least for conventional weapons anyways, but I'll get back to it later,

"I think you can still recall this gun here. It was the same type that you used on the rooftop a week ago. I must say, not many people I have worked with have the courage to just go and summon one like that," Ikutsuki chuckled, grabbing the silver pistol out from its place and put in on the table in front of them. "This gun here is an Evoker. It is not a normal gun of course..."

"You shoot yourself in the head with it..." Minato said, almost felt stupid for letting his voice out.

"Indeed, and to call forth a Persona."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"You are telling me to join your team?" Minato spoke.

"Y-you don't really have to do that, right?" Yukari was the girl who interrupted. Her voice shook in the lack confidence. "We can't just put it on him like that. For once, he has no business to do with all of this and... and... I mean, it'd be nice if you joined but still..."

"We all witnessed what he is capable of the other night," Akihiko, who previously was quiet now looked at Minato. "I have never seen anyone who gets to control two at the same time, and it was even your first time doing it. I don't want to ask your secret, but I'm sure as hell excited to learn how to do the same."

"Akihiko..." It was Mitsuru.

"It was just an expression Mitsuru. I'm sure that we're all as interested in Mr. Minato here just as Akihiko." Ikutsuki intervened and turned to Minato. "Like I've said previously, the choice is yours. You don't have to decide it now, I will tell you the truth that it is our best interest that you are on our team."

"You can't say it like that," it was Yukari. "Now that just made it tougher for him to turn it down..."

"Hey Yukari, it's fine," Minato spoke again, catching the attention of the worried Yukari "Just let me do the talking." It was there again. That sudden voice in his head that kept jumping out of his mouth. He would have kept quiet, but the impulse to tell someone to stop talking for him couldn't just do so, and at time he couldn't help but feel he was being a jerk. Yukari mumbled a sorry, which only made him feeling worse of himself.

"What about the risk? Let's say that I were to fail, what's going to happen."

As he'd suspected, no answer. The room fell silent, the question hung on the air like a broken record. Everyone eyes dipped to the floor, as if the answer was rolling around, waiting for grasps. Akihiko hands linked together, his fingers moved uncomfortably. Mitsuru legs crossed, her ankle tensed. Yukari was still quiet, her hand grabbed tighter onto her skirt. And the last was Ikutsuki, who had his fingers linked, hiding half of his face.

"I get it," Minato scoffed. "I'm going to get the Syndrome,"

He then stood up and proceeded to the door. "I'll do it," he said. Shortly after, he left.

And the silence in the room lingered.

"Well…" Yukari said. "That was anti-climatic,"

"He is an unique individual, although lacks in social interaction," Ikutsuki remarked. "Anyway, I already told Mitsuru to prepare for an operation in the next two days. It's nothing too important, just getting you guys used to Tartarus."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Akihiko spoke. "Recently, I just found another person who has the ability. He also goes to our school, and I believe that he is also in the same class as you, Yukari."

"Same class? Who?"

"I don't know his name yet, forgot to ask the guy when I found him during Dark Hour last week. But anyway, we should get to sleep, I'll bring the guy to our dorm the day after tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Here for now. I could write more but hey… We should all know what the heck happen to the story by now. It was 1.5 year since I updated this...<p> 


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